Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi jailed

Ahed Tamimi (17) is a Palestinian teenager, living in the Israeli occupied West Bank. She gained worldwide notoriety because she screamed at, punched, slapped and kicked at an Israeli soldier. Her mother streamed the confrontation live on Facebook. The officer faced her impassively, absorbing some blows, evading others, but never striking back at her, then finally turned and, with his comrade, simply walked away. Quelle humiliation.

The event happened on 15 December 2017, just a few hours after 15-year-old Mohammed Tamimi, a cousin of Ahed Tamimi, was shot in the face with a rubber-coated bullet during a clash between villagers of Nabi Saleh and Israeli forces.

Ahed Tamimi's actions got her swiftly jailed without bail. Ahed Tamimi was eventually sentenced in a military court to eight months in prison. Ahed Tamimi, 17, accepted a plea bargain that will end her trial, her lawyer said. The sentence included a fine of about $1,400 and a three-year suspended sentence.

Now, most Palestinians view the blue-eyed teenager as a hero of the Palestinian cause. However, some Palestinians wonder if the actions of Ahem Tamini might even be counterproductive, because the soldiers behaved with restraint and thus showing that Israelis 'are human' after all.

Ahed’s mother, Nariman Tamimi, who was charged with incitement for showing the altercation live on Facebook, was also sentenced to eight months in prison, a suspended sentence and a fine of about $1,700. Mother and daughter are both expected to be released in July.

I wonder why young Palestinian women choose inept violence to counter the Israeli occupation. In my view it would be far wiser to get a proper education, to learn a trade and to work your way out of despair and poverty. And using your child to get publicity in a never-ending struggle is always a reprehensible strategy.